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Justin & Mary Spread the Love to Houston!

I was one of the luckiest people in America last week because I got to see Justin & Mary on their Spread the Love Tour TWICE in one week – once in Atlanta, and then I hosted them again in Houston! On top of that, I got the added bonus of spending two incredibly inspiring days at the LaCour Workshop: Branding & Marketing in between the two events! That was BEYOND awesome, and if you ever get the chance to do a LaCour Workshop, you should be all over it! They seriously know their stuff. Blown AWAY. I tell you, I was in workshop heaven!

However, knowing I would be workshops that were all about the business side of things, and not actually taking photographs, I also recognized that last week was the perfect time to send my beloved Canon 5d MarkII and my favorite 50mm f/1.4 lens, along with both off my flashes, off to the Canon Day Spa – also known as Canon Professional Services. Everything is back at home now in tip-top shape, but it meant I had no gear for taking photos at the workshop last week! Oh no! Fortunately, Justin & Mary’s assistant of awesome, Julia, took lots of great photos at the workshops, and I’m sharing them here. (Note: ALL photos here are copyright Justin & Mary Marantz and used with permission.)

Phoenix, San Diego, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Salt Lake, Kansas City, Chicago & Maine – you’re still in luck! Spread the Love is heading your way, and you can use the code “houstonrocks” to get a ticket for $75! This workshop isn’t just for wedding photographers – no matter what you do, if you’re self-employed, just starting out or needing a kick of motivation for your career, you should attend this!

We were quite the emotional group in Atlanta! It was an amazing, incredible day. I’m so glad I was there and that I got to experience it with my dear, dear friend Regina Holder and the always incredible Tasra Mar.

Tuesday & Wednesday were spent getting down & dirty going over so much great information with Andrew, Rachel & Mark at the LaCour Workshop – it was just what I needed to kick off 2010! This is going to be such a huge year! I wish I had better photos then the blurry iPhone snaps I took at Zack’s OneLight Mixer the last night I was in town. I really need to get a purse-sized camera and keep it with me! I did get to watch Zack take this shot of Kevin Weinstein, so at least there is one photo of a LaCour Workshop attendee. In case you wondered, they are glass. They make the most delightful sound when they clink together. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, that is ok. Kevin will know. I think his work is fabulous and you should check it out. He inspires me!

I got to spend most of the day Thursday at the airport thinking about it all, thanks to the joys of checking bags and going through security. Oh well, I had my knitting with me, and my Kindle. It wasn’t that bad! Friday morning I zipped off to Austin to meet with Megan & Cruz for their engagement session at the Texas Capital and the UT Campus (with my 5D, which apparently has the battery life of an engagement session and not much more – time to buy new backup batteries!), and then back to Houston again to catch the rest of the Houston workshop! Huge props to Brittany for getting everything set up for me while I was on the road! (I had nightmares last week about Brittany quitting. I seriously don’t know how I survive without her!)

This box holds a lot of magic! But not everyone can have what is in the box – you have to deserve it!

I had filled up over half of my Moleskin on Monday with notes – but fortunately I had left some blank pages and lines, so I was filling in things I wanted to remember!

It is really important to get your financial house in order!

On the left there is Deji, Clark, and Annarica! Bonus? Clark & Annarica brought cupcakes! Delicious, yummy cupcakes! We have the BEST people here in Houston!

I look a little rough after 5+ hours in the car, but there I am on the right with Justin & Mary! It was so great to host you guys here in Houston!

Someone commented that I was a workshop junkie, and really that isn’t the case at all – although I do love a good workshop. I’ve made it a mission of mine and of the upcoming Delight Wedding Collective to help educate wedding vendors of all types – whether photographers, planners, florists, or anything else – to be better business owners. And what better way to do that then to help bring workshops to Houston! Speaking of which, you should check out Jason Aten’s Starting Out Right Workshop, coming to Houston on February 8, 2010! I learned so much from Jason while just having lunch with him at Skip’s Summer School in Vegas last year. Sign up – and be sure to tell him I sent you!

Author, Coach, Blog Geek. Blogger of 15 years, I named WordPress. My Superpower: Helping entrepreneurs like you use the power of storytelling across blogging & social media to magnetize clients and dominate your market. It is time to stop believing the lies of the Perfection Culture. I live in Houston, Texas when I'm not traveling in my Mini Cooper.